One's Worth
by miknge
Summary: What's one's worth when a person is viewed as the slutty and promiscuous one in school? This deals with the sexism issue that is so apparent in Never Been Kissed, but I doubt the writers will ever revisit it and 'fix' it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin'

A/N: I got very upset after Never Been Kissed. Not only because of the Santana's OOC, but the way they portray the female characters in the show. And then I got into a heated debate with some posters saying that sexism in the last episode is bullshit because Brittana had it coming, having boys treating them this way because they're both promiscuous and slutty and having no self respect and self worth. But my argument is that, that is not the excuse for boys to treat girls that way. Boys can sleep around and still be viewed as macho and a stud. That got me upset, so that is what inspired this fic. And oh, this will also explore in more depth of Santana's character (and maybe Brittany's) on their lack of self respect and self worth in the show. :( Sad theme is sad.

* * *

**One's Worth**

There were times when you thought you could get away with the troubles you had caused, only to have them biting you back in the ass when you least expected it. Then, there were times when you thought you were actually doing the right thing for once, but instead, you had caused more harm than good when you did the right thing.

Those were the times that Santana wished she could just tell them the truth, but she couldn't. She couldn't do it because she was afraid and she was afraid to admit that she was afraid.

"Santana, tell us the truth, did you hit Noah Puckerman until he ends up in the hospital?" Mr Schue asked her again, his tone stricter this time. Again, Santana kept quiet.

"William, there is no point wasting our time on her. They already have evidence that she hit him. Her fingerprints are all over the wood that she used as the weapon," Mr Figgins interrupted.

At the word 'evidence', Brittany perked up beside Santana. Brittany had trusted Santana that they could get away with this, but now that they had evidence, things were not looking so good in their way. Mr Schue immediately caught the look of panic in Brittany's face and he looked at Brittany.

"Brittany, tell us the truth. If you know anything, just tell us."

Brittany cast a glance at Santana for her permission, but Santana had a look on her face that told Brittany to keep quiet, and so she did.

"Santana, we can't help you if you won't tell us anything. At least, tell us why did you hit Noah. Nobody, not even your coach here can help you if you just keep quiet like that," Mr Schue tried again.

"Now, William, I feel insulted. Unlike you, I can help my students," Sue, who had been keeping very quiet all this while, suddenly spoke up when Mr Schue provoked her.

"Alright then, make her talk. Make both of them talk," Mr Schue challenged.

"Oh, I'll make her talk alright," Sue said determinedly, before turning to look at Santana. "Lopez, you're lucky that I still keep you in the squad even after your boob job. I don't tolerate my Cheerios beating up another person unless it's for a good reason. Now, tell me that you beat that punk up for a good reason, and I'll still keep you in the squad."

"Sue!" Mr Figgins exclaimed. "That's not the way to get her to talk! And you shouldn't encourage your students to beat another person up!"

"Brittany, tell us what happened," Mr Schue enquired again gently.

"Tell me why, or I'll kick you off the squad!" Sue threatened Santana.

Brittany let out a sob and Santana quickly reached over to grab her hand to comfort her.

Mr Figgins' telephone rang, silencing everyone in the room. He picked it up and everyone waited for him with baited breath in case there were any news on Puck's progress in the hospital. Mr Figgins talked into the mouthpiece, giving curt and short replies as the eyebrows on his forehead burrowed deeper and deeper with every word and every sigh.

Finally, he hung up the phone and looked at everyone.

"Good news from the hospital?" Mr Schue asked hopefully.

"Quite the contrary, William. Noah Puckerman has not woken up from the coma yet. Looks like it's a pretty bad hit to his head," Mr Figgins replied, and Santana smirked triumphantly although inside she was all jittery. She had never hit someone until they ended up in the hospital bed, still in coma, even though she knew Puck deserved it.

Everybody in the room were solemn. "But that is not the only bad news," Mr Figgins sighed wearily. "Noah's mother is pressing charges."

If Santana was nervous when she and Brittany were called into the principal's office earlier, now she was scared. Brittany didn't have it any better, as she began to cry and lose control. "No, she can't press charges! It's not Santana's fault that she hit him! It's Puck's fault. He-"

"Shut up, Brittany!" Santana shouted, cutting her best friend off.

"What? What did Puck do?" Mr Schue took this opportunity to ask Brittany.

"He did nothing, alright? He didn't do anything!" Santana answered before Brittany could. "I just hit him because we were having an argument and I hate his mohawked face, alright! And yes, I did hit him and I don't know why you have to ask me this again even though you have the evidence already! It's never hard for any of you guys to believe that I do all the evil things around here, so why should it be any different this time?" The last sentence was spat out spitefully as Santana struggled to keep her composure from bursting out into tears. "Come on, Britt. Let's go." She stood up and grabbed her arm to make the exit, but was stopped by her coach.

"Hold on, Santana," Sue said, frowning. "Before you go, I have this to say to both of you. I'm disappointed in your reasons to beat Puck. And I can't risk losing the Nationals now with you distracted with the charges pressed against you. Both of you are off the team. Strip off your uniforms."

"What?" Santana whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "Ok, you can do that to me, but not Brittany. It's not her fault and I'm the one who they pressed charges against, not her. She didn't deserve to be thrown off the squad. Plus, you can't afford to lose two cheerleaders when you're so close to Nationals."

Sue appeared to look indifferent as she thought about what Santana had said. "Santana, you're off the squad. Brittany, you remain."

Wordlessly, Santana dragged Brittany out of the principal's office before anyone else, including Brittany, could get another word in. Once they reached the Cheerios locker room, Santana ordered all the other cheerleaders out so that she could have some privacy and quiet to herself and Brittany, but it proved to be difficult when Quinn was in the locker room as well.

"Everyone sit down and ignore her," Quinn ordered nonchalantly from the bench. "She's no longer one of us now and even if she is, who's the captain around here?" With Quinn's words, all the other cheerleaders sat back down and ignored Santana.

Quinn stood up and walked towards the brunette. "Oh, don't look so shocked there, Santana," Quinn mocked. "Words travel fast. Everyone knows that you're off the squad now, so you can't be here in this locker room, let alone give orders to the cheerleaders."

Santana didn't even have the energy left in her to fight back. She just wanted to get out of those damn uniform, get into a shower, drive Brittany home, go back to her own home and cry herself to sleep. Brittany, sensing her best friend's inability to fight back, decided to step up.

"Quinn please, Santana and I need a moment alone," Brittany pleaded.

Quinn looked at Brittany and let out a breath. "Ok, but because you asked nicely." She turned her attention back to Santana. "Wow, I can't believe I had a lot of respect for you before, but that was before you got yourself a boob job. Now, you can't even fight back, and you need Brittany to beg for you? But I'm still really impressed that you can get someone to press charges against you." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm and she knew Santana was not enjoying it.

Smirking, Quinn turned around and was about to give orders to her fellow cheerleaders to leave, but she was suddenly stopped by Santana. "Save it, blondie. I will not have you leave the room while you kicked me down. At least, I still have some dignity left in me," Santana said angrily through gritted teeth, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill out. No, she will not cry in front of Quinn. She will not let Quinn and the rest of the cheerleaders see her weakness.

With that, she turned on her heels and left, not caring if Brittany followed her or not. Needless to say, Brittany followed her out of the Cheerios locker room, into the hallway and into the girls' bathroom. Fortunately this time, no one else was inside and as soon as Brittany stepped into the bathroom, she quickly locked the door so that no one could go in. Santana was already in one of the bathroom stalls by the time she stepped in.

"San? Are you alright? Talk to me." Brittany knocked on the bathroom stall's door where Santana was in. "Santana?"

Few minutes later, Santana opened the door. She was no longer in her Cheerios uniform, but in her tank top and skinny jeans. Her hair was down, and she held her Cheerios uniform in one hand.

"Santana?" Brittany asked again, as she could see streaks of tears on Santana's face.

"It'll be alright, Brittany," Santana said reassuringly to Brittany. "It'll be alright. My dad's a doctor and he has connections. He has tons of lawyer friends. He knows people. He'll get me out of this mess." Santana forced a smile as she nodded her head, trying to reassure her best friend, but Brittany saw it more like Santana was reassuring herself.

"San, I don't understand why you don't just tell them the truth. Or at least, let me tell them. That way, you won't even get pressed charges because it wasn't even your fault to begin with."

"No, Brittany. No one will understand anyway," Santana said.

"Why won't anyone understand? Puck forced himself on you and you didn't want it. It's not that hard to understand. I may not know much, but I know that it's not your fault if a person forced himself on you," Brittany reasoned.

"No, Britt. You need to shut up. Puck didn't do anything. He didn't do anything to me. I hit him because of an argument and I hate his mohawk. That's the story and we've got to stick to that, alright?" Santana said, on the verge of losing her temper.

"But I don't understand why you want to go through all this trouble when all you got to do is just to tell them the truth! Is this even worth it for you to be kicked off the Cheerios squad?" Brittany shouted, exasperated.

"Look, it's my reputation, alright? How will my reputation be like when the truth comes out? Everyone will see me as a weakling!"

"Oh of course. Your reputation," Brittany scoffed. "What else? How could I have been so stupid for not knowing the reason why?"

Brittany sighed and leaned against the wall, looking at Santana as she washed her hands and face in the sink. "Quinn was right to lose her respect for you," she said after a while.

It cut right through Santana's heart and it cut deep.

"No, stop it Brittany. You don't mean that," Santana said quietly, turning around to face her best friend.

"I do, unless you tell me the real reason. Because, really Santana? You don't want people to know what caused you to hit Puck because of your reputation? I may be stupid, but I'm not that stupid. I know you. There must be more to that, because if there is not, then I really meant what I said about Quinn losing her respect for you," Brittany retorted, walking towards Santana until she had no way to escape.

Finally, Santana looked away, her shoulders slumped. Brittany could see the broken look in Santana's eyes. Taking in a shaky breath, Santana finally began in a trembling voice, "Look, it's not that simple, alright?"

"Only if you go and make it complicated," Brittany replied simply.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

Santana swallowed and darted her eyes back and forth. "I..." she began shakily. It was never easy for Santana to open herself up to anyone, not even Brittany even though she had known Brittany for years and is the only friend she had ever had. "What would it do even if I told the truth? It's not like anyone would believe me," she finally concluded defeatedly.

"Why wouldn't anyone believe you?"

"I'm a slut, Brittany. Everyone in school knows that. Everyone in school knows that I'm easy, I never say no, I'm an easy lay... everyone knows that..." Fresh new tears began to form in Santana's eyes as she struggled with her words. "Who would... who would actually believe me that I said no to Puck. Who would actually believe me that Puck would... would force himself on me, because I never say no," Santana said. "No one will believe me, Britt. Because I'm always the evil and the slutty one. So, why would anything be different this time? Mr Figgins didn't even want to waste his time on me because they already have the evidence that I hit Puck. Quinn... even Quinn..." Santana took a deep breath, unable to finish her sentence as she wiped the tears from her eyes bitterly. Quinn, who was once her best friend, betrayed her and didn't even understand her at all.

Brittany never knew that Santana felt that way about herself. She had always thought that Santana was strong and confident. She had always looked up to Santana, but she had no idea that this is how Santana viewed herself. As Santana's words processed in Brittany's brain, Brittany realized something.

"That's not fair, Santana," Brittany said. "Everyone in school knows that I sleep around with people too."

"I'm not saying that you're the slutty and the evil one," Santana said, almost laughing at Brittany's perception. "And besides, people will believe you."

"Then let me go and tell them the truth."

"How many times do we have to go through this? I said no," Santana said stubbornly, while crossing her arms.

"But you said people will believe me and Puck's mom will drop her charges if the truth is known because everyone will take pity on you," Brittany countered.

"No, I do not need anyone's pity, alright?" Santana responded quickly. Angrily. "The last thing I need is anyone's pity, so you don't tell anyone shit."

"But..."

"No buts, Brittany. Please promise me that you won't tell anyone," Santana said, looking pleadingly at Brittany, and Brittany knew she could not say no to Santana. Santana is her best friend. Santana had never opened herself up to anyone before and Brittany was the only person Santana ever opened herself up to. Santana trusted her, and Brittany couldn't betray Santana's trust. She was the only one Santana had. So, she nodded her head silently, agreeing.

"Good. Now come on, let's get out of here. We've got to go and return these to coach," Santana said, referring to her Cheerios uniform still in her hand. Santana wiped the tears from her face and put on a smile. A fake smile that she had mastered all throughout the years, fooling everyone into believing that she is a confident and strong head bitch in charge. She extended her pinky to Brittany, to which Brittany accepted and linked her pinky with Santana's, before both of them walked out of the girls' bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

When Santana was at the tender age of twelve, she was accused of breaking her mother's favorite vase, even though it was her little brother who did it. She did try to defend herself, but her parents didn't believe her, all because of one incident that happened two years ago. She accidentally pushed her little brother to the middle of the road, towards an incoming vehicle while they were playing outside their house, by the roadside. Fortunately, the vehicle was able to stop in the nick of time. However, her mother saw the incident unfolding in front of them, and she immediately rushed out and slapped Santana, accusing her of trying to kill her little brother and even though she tried to explain to her mother that she didn't mean it, her mother did not believe her.

Her parents knew that Santana had always been jealous of her little brother, ever since her little brother was born. She would hit and bully her little brother when she was younger, but all her jealousy was gone by the time she was ten years old. Santana did try to explain that she was no longer jealous, but her parents never believed her, especially her mom. Her dad, however, is always busy and never at home. So, whenever her mom told her dad of her bad behavior, her dad would just believe everything her mom said, turn to her sternly and tell her to never repeat the mistake again, without even asking Santana what really happened. Then, her dad would just go off to work, like as if nothing ever happened.

While her parents never believed that Santana was the innocent one, the difference between her dad and her mom is that, whenever Santana got into trouble at school, her dad would always help her to get out of the mess by negotiating with the parents of other students with money.

When Santana was at the tender age of fourteen, she had learned two valuable life lessons. One: Once you're the villain, you're always the villain, even though you're the innocent one. And two: Money talks. Everything can be solved, as long as you have the money.

So, when Santana was standing in her living room in front of her parents, it was nothing new for her to hear her mother yelling at her for beating Noah. She didn't even try to explain to her mother that it wasn't her fault. Her mother was close to kicking her out of her house, when her dad spoke up.

"Now now, dear. Let's not get too drastic, shall we? Santana getting into trouble this time may be a good thing."

"Why's that?" her mom spat angrily.

"Well, I once saved this person's life, who happened to be my patient. He's a lawyer. A very well known lawyer who has connections with lots of wealthy people. However, he is a very stingy person and he never refers any clients to me because he has his own family doctor that he'd rather refers them to. Now, if I refer Santana's case to him, he may refer his friends to me, and this can help my business as well," Mr Lopez said.

"Hmmm... well, that's good then. Do what you have to do," Mrs Lopez remarked, before leaving them in a huff.

Once the two of them were alone, her dad approached her. "Don't worry, baby girl. We'll get you out of this mess. Everything will be ok, because this lawyer is very well known for winning all his murder cases."

"I didn't murder anyone," Santana said quietly.

"Well, this Noah kid is still in a coma, right? It's close to murder then," her dad remarked casually. "You'll be fine, Santana." Her dad gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. "You go and have fun now." With that, he left her alone, not even noticing the tears brimming in Santana's eyes.

"Well, jeez thanks, dad," Santana murmured so softly that no one could hear her.

* * *

"Have you tried talking to her again?" Emma asked Mr Schue as she arranged her pencils and pens neatly on her desk for the hundredth time. "Or you know, you could try talking to Brittany."

"We've all tried talking to her, but she's so thick-skulled. Nothing will ever get into her head. It's almost like as if, she's pushing away all our help, and we really want to help her. And talking to Brittany isn't helping either. Santana answers everything for her," Mr Schue sighed. "That is why I'm approaching you now to ask you to try to talk to Santana. I know she's hiding something from us. Both of them are. Santana wouldn't hit Noah for no reason unless something bad really happened that threatened her reputation at school."

"You mean like that one time when she had a fight with Quinn in the hallway?" Emma asked.

"Yeah. That seems like the most important thing for Santana," Mr Schue replied.

"I think you're wrong here, Will," Emma paused, inhaling deeply, before continuing. "Does it ever occur to you that, when Santana hit Puck, Brittany was there too? So, maybe this time, it wasn't about her reputation. Maybe Puck was trying to harm Brittany and Santana was just defending her. They're both best friends. And Santana, being a cold, heartless bitch, still manages to find someone as sweet as Brittany to be her best friend. And Brittany, such a sweet girl, is willing to stick by Santana no matter what. I know everyone sees Santana as this cold, heartless bitch, but I believe that there is more to her than meets the eye. Santana is not as shallow as everyone thinks."

"Well, if you're right, then why won't Santana allow Brittany to tell us what happened that night?"

"My assumption is that she's protecting Brittany. And maybe Brittany's reputation. With Brittany's ditzy and dim nature, she's bound to be called names by other students. Santana doesn't want Brittany to feel bad about herself by reliving the incident to us," Emma explained as she squeezed the sanitizer into her palms before rubbing her palms together.

"Wow..." Mr Schue stared at Emma in awe. "Just... I'm just so glad that I came to look for you for advice."

"It's ok, Will," Emma said softly, meeting his eyes and holding his gaze, before clearing her throat and looking away. "Just send Brittany to my room after Glee today. I'll have a talk with her alone to find out what happened that night."

* * *

After Glee practice was over, Santana was surprised when Mr Schue called for Brittany to meet Emma in her office. Santana had insisted to go with Brittany, but Mr Schue had disallowed vehemently, making no room for the fiery Latina to argue further. She finally settled for walking with Brittany to Emma's office and waiting for her outside.

"Remember, Brittz. If Ms Pillsbury asks you anything about the incident last night, and why I hit Puck, don't tell her anything. Just stick to our story, ok?" Santana had reminded Brittany over and over again before Brittany entered Emma's office. Naturally, the blonde had agreed, not forgetting about the promise she had made to Santana not to reveal the truth.

"So, do you know why you were sent here?" Emma asked kindly once Brittany was settled in her seat, across from the counselor.

"If it's anything to do with Santana hitting Puck, I don't know anything," Brittany deadpanned.

Smiling kindly, Emma got up from her seat and walked towards Brittany. She leaned against her desk and tried again, this time, gentler.

"Brittany, do you know why all of us here are trying to help Santana?"

"Because she's hot?" Brittany asked cluelessly.

"No. Because we all believe that she's innocent. Because we all believe that she wouldn't hurt anyone if she wasn't provoked. Or if someone didn't provoke you and she didn't feel the need to protect you," Emma explained patiently, pausing for a while for Brittany's reaction.

All of this didn't make sense for Brittany. Santana told her that no one would believe her even if she told them the truth, and yet, Emma was telling her that everyone believed that Santana was the innocent one. Brittany wanted to believe the counselor, but she had been around her best friend far longer than she had been around anyone else. Santana would never lie to her, so she chose to believe Santana instead.

"Brittany?" Emma called out to her upon seeing the blonde cheerleader had spaced out. "Brittany?"

"Huh?"

"Did you listen to a word I just said?" Emma asked, touching Brittany's shoulder gently. Brittany could only nod.

"So, are you ready to tell us what really happened that night?"

The counselor was met with silence.

Clearing her throat, Emma decided to try a different approach. "You know that Noah's mother had pressed charges against Santana, right?"

Brittany nodded.

"And you know that Santana doesn't stand a chance to win this case if we never know the truth."

"That's not true. San said everything will be alright. Her dad's a doctor and he has lots of lawyer friends. He'll get Santana out of this mess," Brittany said convincingly.

"Well... you may be right on that. But what if her lawyer lost the case, huh?" Emma questioned, injecting a bit of fear into Brittany. "What if she has to go to juvie because of this. The juvie's a very scary place, Brittany. You will never get to see her at school everyday anymore. You will never walk down the school hallway with her everyday anymore. You will never sit next to her in classes and in Glee practice anymore. You will never sing and dance with her in Glee anymore. Her future will be affected. She may never get out of this town to have a bright future and..."

"No no no no..." By now, Brittany had her palms covering her ears, chanting the word 'no' over and over again, with tears streaming down her eyes. "It's not true. All of this won't happen to Santana because it's not her fault that she hit Puck. It's Puck's fault. It's not Santana's fault it's not Santana's fault it's not Santana's fault..."

"Brittany, all of this will happen if we don't know what really happened that night," Emma said, gently removing Brittany's hands away from her ears. "Trust me when I said that all of us want to help Santana. We can't help her if she won't let us help her. We can't help her if she won't help herself. And you, Brittany, being Santana's best and only friend, is the only hope Santana has for saving herself from all of these. You're her best friend, Brittany, and if you love her, you'd help her. You'd let us help her."

Brittany lifted her head up and looked at Emma forlornly that it almost broke the counselor's heart.

"Brittany, tell me, whenever you're ready," Emma encouraged, a soft smile on her face.

Santana's words rang in Brittany's head.

"_What would it do even if I told the truth? It's not like anyone would believe me."_

"_I'm a slut, Brittany. Everyone in school knows that. Everyone in school knows that I'm easy, I never say no, I'm an easy lay... everyone knows that..."_

"_And besides, people will believe you." _

Brittany opened her mouth, ready to tell Emma the truth. Santana said that no one will believe her because she has a bad reputation at school, but people will believe Brittany once she told the truth. And besides, Emma had just told her that they all believed that Santana was the innocent one. She was ready to tell the counselor the truth, but something else was holding her back.

"_No, I do not need anyone's pity, alright! The last thing I need is anyone's pity, so you don't tell anyone shit."_

Santana didn't want anyone to take pity on her. If she told Emma the truth now, everyone would know about it, and everyone would take pity on her friend.

"_No buts, Brittany. Please promise me that you won't tell anyone."_

Brittany had promised Santana not to tell anyone the truth. She had made that promise to Santana, and she had to keep that promise.

"Brittany?"

"_And besides, people will believe you." _

"Brittany?"

"_People will believe you."_

"Brittany, are you alright?" Emma asked, her voice coated with concern now.

"_People will believe you."_

Something clicked in Brittany then.

"Puck forced himself on me and I didn't want it. I pushed him away, but he was too strong," Brittany blurted out, avoiding the counselor's eyes for lying.

"Did... did Noah rape you?" Emma asked, shocked.

"No! No, he didn't rape me," Brittany stammered. "Santana came to my help on time and she hit Puck over and over again until he passed out."

"Are you sure he didn't rape you?" Emma asked again. "Because if he did, then you have to report to the police and charges against Santana will be dropped immediately."

"Well... he nearly did, but Santana stopped him on time by hitting him."

"Good... good," the counselor nodded thoughtfully. "This is a good enough reason to convince Mrs Puckerman to drop the charges. You have to tell your statement to the cops. Tell them exactly what happened. I will call the cops in charge of this case and have them come over here to take down your statement, alright?"

"Ok," Brittany replied quietly, although she didn't like what she had gotten herself into. But she would do anything to help her friend.

Santana immediately perked up the moment she saw Brittany walking out of Emma's office. Without missing a beat, she quickly walked towards the blonde.

"How was it?" she asked Brittany hurriedly, but Brittany avoided her eyes and walked past her without answering her question.

Stunned by Brittany's action, Santana stormed into Emma's office.

"What did you do to Brittany?" she demanded, as she walked towards Emma, who was sitting by the desk. Santana was seething with rage as she planted her palms on the desk, her body leaning forward, glaring angrily at the counselor.

"Oh, Santana there you are," Emma said calmly. "Don't worry about Mrs Puckerman pressing charges against you. Brittany had told me everything and we will do everything we can to help you."

Santana's face crumbled upon hearing what Emma had told her. She felt betrayed by Brittany.

"Whatever she told you, they're all lies. They never happened!" Santana shouted hysterically. "They're all lies, ok?"

"Santana!" Emma yelled over Santana's voice to stop her. "Why are you denying the truth?"

"Because it never happened," Santana stated.

"So... you're denying that you saved Brittany in the nick of time before she got raped by Noah?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Santana asked, puzzled. All her anger and fear were gone and were now replaced by confusion.

"Santana," Emma sighed. "I understand that you want to protect Brittany's reputation, but by doing so, you'll only harm her and yourself in the long run. Brittany looks up to you, like you're her hero or something, but you shouldn't sacrifice yourself just to protect her. You shouldn't hide the truth from us, especially when it's not your fault for hitting Noah."

"Wait... Brittany told you that Puck raped her?" Santana was beyond bewildered now.

"Well, close. She told me that Noah was forcing himself on her although she didn't want him, and you got to her rescue in time before he raped her. And that was why you hit Noah," Emma explained. "Well, now that the truth is out, we will help you all we can to convince Mrs Puckerman to drop all charges against you. We will call the cops in charge of your case and..."

Emma never got to finish her sentence because Santana was already out of her office.

She found Brittany sitting by the staircase. Their usual spot. Exhaling deeply, she went and sat next to Brittany.

"Ms Pillsbury told me everything," the brunette began.

She waited for Brittany's response, but when none came, she spoke again.

"Why did you do that, Britt?"

"Because I made a promise to you, and since I can't tell them the whole truth, I told them half truth," Brittany said simply, shrugging slightly. "Which isn't exactly half truth, because Puck did try to force himself on me, after I pulled him away from you, but he didn't get a chance to kiss me at all because you'd knocked him out cold."

"But still, you shouldn't have told Ms Pillsbury anything."

"You said people will believe me, but not you."

"Yeah, I did say that, but that's because you're different, Britt. You're different from me... you're so... so angelic and... and you should've just stayed out of this. You should've just told Ms Pillsbury what I told you to say to her."

"I'm no different than you, Santana," Brittany countered. "I made out with almost everyone at school. I had sex with thirty people on my bed, not counting the ones that I had sex with on their beds or elsewhere. If anything, Santana, I'm as bad and as slutty as you are. So, I don't see why I can't tell Ms Pillsbury that Puck nearly raped me, instead of you. All I did was just twisted the story a little. No big deal."

Santana let all the words by Brittany sunk into her head, slowly digesting it in her brain. In Santana's eyes, Brittany is so sweet, innocent and gullible that it made her so angelic. It pained her to realize that Brittany thought of herself as a slut. That she is no different than Santana. It was true, though, as much as Santana hated to admit it, Brittany was right. They're both sluts of McKinley High. They both never say no and they're an easy lay. The only difference is that Brittany is kinder and friendlier, while Santana is bitchier.

"But you're not as bitchy as me," Santana said out loud.

"That I am not," Brittany agreed. "That's why people will believe me if I said that Puck nearly raped me, instead of you. I don't care if people take pity on me. Most of them always do anyways, and I'm used to that. I don't care that much about my reputation. You're a hero in all of this, making Puck the villain, whilst I'm a damsel in distress. The charges against you will be dropped. It's a win-win situation for both of us. Besides, I don't want you to end up in juvie... Puck ended up in juvie once and from the story he told us, it isn't a nice place. I couldn't imagine everyday without you if you're in juvie, San."

"I won't end up in juvie, Brittany. My dad can..."

"What if he can't? Ms Pillsbury told me all these scenarios if your dad can't get you out of this mess and I can't deal with that," Brittany said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"So, is that why you decided to tell Ms Pillsbury the half truth?"

"Well, that's part of the reason why."

"What's the other part?" Santana asked softly.

"The other part is because I love you."

The words rushed out of Brittany's mouth all of a sudden, unplanned by her. Santana was shocked to hear the words, as Brittany was shocked that she had said it. They are best friends, and it's only natural for best friends to love each other as friends. But the way Brittany phrased the words, it was more than platonic feelings.

Santana realized that Brittany was still holding her gaze, her blue eyes searching into Santana's soul, waiting for Santana to say something. Anything. Santana wanted to say something back to her friend, but her tongue failed her.

"I mean... I, um..." Brittany struggled, breaking her gaze from Santana. God, why is she so stupid? Why did she go and say that for? Santana had made it very clear that they are nothing but best friends with benefits, and Brittany had understood it perfectly the moment Santana rejected to be her duet partner. "I gotta go now."

With that, she hurriedly got up and walked away as Santana just watched her retreating back wordlessly.


End file.
